Sitemap creator and how to choose the one you need

In our previous article about sitemaps, we have talked about the types of sitemaps and briefly about sitemap generators used to create them. In this article, we decided to drive you deeper into the world of SEO. We’ll discuss website sitemap creator tools and how they are used by digital marketers, website developers, and site owners.

What is sitemap generator?

Website sitemap generator is a special type of software used to automatically create a list of pages a website or an online application has. It is evident that developing a new website or redesigning an existing one is a time-consuming process, which requires attention to numerous details. Sitemap generators are aimed at helping webmasters to create or update existing websites easier. They allow creating a sitemap for the website just in a few clicks.
There are two main types of sitemap makers available for users: site map creator online and downloadable software which is installed either on your desktop or web server. Before the creation of the first sitemap generator, webmasters used to set up website maps manually; some web developers are still using this approach.
It is essential to note that it was impossible to create sitemaps for huge websites with thousands of pages without the automated sitemap generators.

CMS or Standalone Sitemap Generator?

CMS (content management system) is an application which allows creating and publishing website content. It is used by content managers, webmasters or other people working on the website to easily update, add and edit website content. In addition to website updates, CMS gives features to create SEO friendly URLs, to add online assistance options, support design templates for the new pages, audit the website with different tools, easily integrate with different frameworks and much more. CMS reduces the need to code website features and supports frequent content changes.
CMS sitemap generators are built into your website and allow creating both HTML and XML sitemaps with one click. In addition, they are easy to manage.Even a person without the technical background can deal with them. As you see, it is not difficult to generate sitemap xml using CMS built in sitemaps features.
Standalone sitemap generator is a cloud-based or installable software program which gives an ability to automatically update your sitemaps when the changes are made. Standalone generators are a great option for non-CMS websites and applications; however, its management requires technical knowledge.
Overall, the choice of a sitemap generator will depend on the website type and content updates. If you have a lot of updating content on the website, i.e. active blog, catalog or anything else, it is better to use CMS website generator to do the work for you automatically, without any coding and administration. Yet, if there are no sitemap generators available for your website, use a standalone one and be prepared to face technical obstacles. It is a good practice to use google sitemap generator online.

How are sitemap generators used in the real world?

Webmasters use sitemap generators to render sitemaps for the websites with a few clicks. Before sitemap generators era, webmasters crafted sitemaps by hand, in a spreadsheet or by creating a script. Now, webmasters use a sitemap maker to quickly create a sitemap for the website and upload it to the website for users and search engines. Based on the type of sitemap, there are different ways of its usage:

To show the actual structure of the website, how it is organized or labeled to support usability and findability. Sitemap maker software allows automatically create a website structure file.

To create a visual representation of the website and what it contains. Sitemaps are used by project managers during the web development process to make sure that the project is delivered smoothly.

To optimize the website for search engines. With the help of sitemaps, webmasters and SEO personnel can check whether all links are up-to-date and working. In addition, Google sitemaps generator is used to submit the website structure to the search engines. As a result, the website pages will appear in SERP and attract more new visitors.

To redesign websites. Sometimes when you are redesigning a website and the new version is not working properly, you may use sitemaps to understand why it is happening that way and correct the issue where it is needed.

To check if all the content is moved to the new design. After the website is redesigned on the development server, a webmaster can compare the new sitemap with the old one to ensure that all needed pages are being moved to the new version.

To find a page on the website. This applies to the HTML type sitemap which is created for easier navigation and published on a separate page to be accessed by the website visitors.

There are also other less common ways of website sitemap usage you may find online. Yet, it is very important to generate sitemap xml for your website.
As you probably understood, sitemaps are an important part of the online presence. Each type of sitemaps we discussed earlier has its own features and is used by the professionals to ensure that the website is functioning and indexed properly. Different sitemaps are used for different purposes way of usage depends on the type of sitemap.
Not sure if you have the right sitemap or if it contains all the public data you need? Having troubles creating a sitemap for your website? Feel free to contact WiserBrand team and we’ll map your way out of those issues.